Green New DEAL paired Residential College in the Arts and Humanities students with Detroit high schoolers for an exploration of ecology through the lens of science and the arts.

In addition to making art together, students researched microplastics and macroplastics in the Great Lakes, traveled to Costa Rica to study with peers about the impact of pollution on the land, and worked with Detroit artists to demonstrate their knowledge and give creative voice to their hopes for a greener future for their city.

It was all part of the Green New DEAL, an interdisciplinary collaboration between Asia Dowtin, an associate professor with MSU’s Department of Forestry; Estrella Torrez, a professor with the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities; and Heidi Quick, a teacher at University Prep Art and Design High School in Detroit.